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In two columns in the Saudi daily Al-Watan, titled "What's Happening in the Girls' Schools?" and "Who Will Sound the Warning Bell in the Girls Schools?" Halima Muzaffar criticizes the Saudi education system for using scare tactics and for instilling in young children the fear of death, as part of their religious education. She claims that this "culture of death" is the reason for the spread of terrorism in Saudi society.

This is not the first time Saudis have protested against the school system. A MEMRI Special Dispatch from 2004 looks at criticism in Saudi Arabia regarding the intensive focus on death in Saudi schools, with columnists, university lecturers, and parents discussing the emotional damage suffered by schoolchildren as a result of this focus and calling on the Saudi Education Ministry to put a stop to it. [1]

The following are excerpts from the two columns by Ms. Muzaffar:

"Girls' Schools... Are Inculcating Extremism [in Pupils]"

"It appears that, for some teachers, [employing techniques based on] sterile drilling and destroying the girls' talents are not enough... They are also trying to destroy their souls through fear. These teachers are spreading 'the culture of death' without any supervision or control. Perhaps, in their ignorance, they are trying [in this way] to imbue their lessons with a moral [message]... and perhaps they are [only] doing this so they can put down 'religious activity' in their personal files... in the hope of receiving special commendation [from the administration].

"[But] whether inadvertendly or intentionally, the girls' schools are inculcating extremism [in the pupils]. Extremist women teachers with a pessimistic outlook on life are using scare tactics [in educating the children]. The Ministry of Education and Culture must not ignore this.

"Why can't religious guidance be administered without resorting to the discourse of fear? Why is the Ministry of Education and Culture ignoring these ideological attempts to transform our girls into lifeless and sickly creatures, and into future mothers who will be easily manipulated by a terrorist father, brother, or husband - because [in their early school years] they were polluted by [ideas] of terror, death, and rejection of this world?

"A woman I know noticed that her eight-year-old daughter was distressed: She suddenly began wetting her bed at night, and suffered from nightmares that made her cry. This was caused by stories told by one of her teachers, about the tortures of the grave and the hammer-wielding angels of destruction called Munkar and Nakir [2]... [and] about the Angel of Death who does not rest until he has taken the souls that he is commanded to take, and about the agonies of dying suffered by those who were slack in their observance of the religious commandments. All these [stories] were aimed at encouraging the girls to pray. [But] this teacher, and others like her, forgot that the best way to encourage innocent girls and prompt them to do things is to instill in them the love of Allah, of His Paradise, and of His mercy.

"As one of the older generation, I still remember how schools would bring [into the classroom] women whose job it was to wash the bodies of the dead, wrap them in shrouds, and weep over them, causing our little eyes to water in fear... I will never forget how, during the first year of junior high, as part of our religious studies, the [school] administration [brought] one of these body-washers [to speak to us]. She taught us how to wash the body of our mother, sister, or other female relative, in case we had to do this in the future. She [also] told us about the terrible things that happen to the dead, [and stressed that] only those who had devoted themselves entirely to the faith were spared [these horrors]... You can imagine how [the girls] fainted and cried - which, unfortunately, was considered to be to the credit of the woman who frightened us, so that other schools began to compete for her services."

"This 'Culture of Death' is the Main Reason that... Terrorism [Is] Endorsed by Our Society"

"Let me put it plainly: We must realize that this 'culture of death' is the main reason that the ideological terrorism of takfir [accusing others of heresy] and various [other] sorts of terrorism are endorsed by our society. To eradicate this cancer, we must address its roots - namely, the social seclusion of women. [3] [We must reform the upbringing of] the young girls who will later become women, mothers, and educators - for it is they who will shape the next generation. We must stop exploiting their innocence. We have had enough generations of closed[-minded people] who know nothing but death and perdition." [4]

In a follow-up article, titled "Who Will Sound the Warning Bell in the Girls Schools?" Muzaffar wrote that her first article had evoked numerous responses from parents, who agreed with her and added stories of their own. She said:

"A reader named Saleh Al-Salouli told me that one day, his daughter returned [from school] in shock after the teacher had forced them to watch an execution... This story should alert the girls' schools [to the existence of a problem], and make the [Education] Ministry considerably tighten its supervision [over the schools]. For how can they continue to employ a principal who had turned an execution into part of the curriculum for little girls?...

"A reader named Muna related that her 12-year-old daughter has suffered from anxiety and nightmares since she heard [from her teacher] about the tortures of the grave and about the maggots that consume the bodies of the dead... And a reader named Muhammad [wrote] about how surprised he was when his daughter, a fifth-grader, told him that it was forbidden to watch Tom and Jerry on television. Her teacher had decreed so...
"There were [also] responses [too harsh] to report here. But I urge the officials [of the Education Ministry] to read them, for they reflect the views and experience of the readers. [I urge the ministry] to take them seriously, since they show that the girls' schools are trying... to exploit the [young pupils'] innocence in order to disseminate the culture of death and extremism." [5]

[1] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 730, "Educators and Parents Protest Against 'The Culture of Death' Taught In Saudi Schools," June 11, 2004, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP73004. [2] According to the Islamic faith, Allah sends the destroying angels Munkar and Nakir to question the deceased in the grave regarding his religion and beliefs. If his answers are unsatisfactory, the angels break his bones with their hammer. [3] The writer plays on the word "seclusion" which also means "veiled." [4]Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), January 8, 2008. [5]Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), January 15, 2008.

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

A number of Islamist websites include special forums for women and for the Islamic family. A review of these forums reveals that over two-thirds of their participants are men, that their objective is essentially indoctrination, and that their principal concern is with issues such as encouraging women to carry out suicide operations − for example, by relating and extolling biographies and testaments of female martyrs in Islamic history and in modern times. These forums urge women to take an active part in jihad, or at least to support its fighters through financial contributions. They also promote jihad education from an early age, publicize various sheikhs' fatwas on jihad and martyrdom, and highlight the reward that awaits both male and female martyrs in Paradise.

"How I Hoped to Turn My Body into Slivers to Tear the Sons of Zion to Pieces, and to Knock with Their Skulls on the Gates of Paradise"

An Al-Hesbah subscriber calling herself Umm Hamza Al-Shahid wrote a message titled "Secure Yourself a Chandelier under the Throne [in Paradise]," in which she encouraged Muslim women to carry out suicide bombings. Following are excerpts:

"The souls of the martyrs dwell inside the bellies of green birds [that roost] on chandeliers hanging from the royal throne [of Allah in Paradise]. They roam freely in Paradise, and then come to roost on the chandeliers... Sister... [think] what a [wonderful] life that is, how [wonderful] Paradise is, and what we miss living here [in this world]... You know that a martyr does not die. He lives, and will never know death, for it is said [in Koran 2:153]: 'And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, [they] live, but you do not perceive [it].'

"You surely ask: 'What is the way to martyrdom for me, as a woman?... How can I find the way?' Before I answer, let me say: Has it occurred to you that the very first Muslim who had the privilege of becoming a martyr was a woman, [namely] Sumayya bint Khayyat? She was cruelly tortured by the leader of the infidels, the bitter enemy of the faith, Abu Jahl, but remained steadfast in her religion and faith... She spat in his filthy face, leaving him no choice but to draw his sword and stab her, and then her pure body was cast in the desert of Mecca, while her pure soul ascended to Paradise... Take her example, sister. She had the honor [of becoming a martyr] before the [first] man had [this honor]. Allah does not prevent us from... following in her footsteps.

"Sister, do you fear the horror of death and the agony of dying? [Know that] the pain felt by a martyr as he is killed is like the pain of a [wasp's] sting. Having heard this, are you still afraid to dare? Don't you wish such an end - an easy transition from this world to Paradise, without pain or agony?... Since death is inevitable, why should we not leave this transient [world] in our best capacity, [that is,] as martyrs? These are the words of one of our sisters who has already achieved this goal, Rim Al-Riyashi. [1] She was only 22 years old, and a mother of two small children, but she considered her life [in this world] of little worth [and sacrificed it] for the sake of Allah in order to wave the banner of Islam, saying in her will: 'I have long yearned for this martyrdom for the sake of Allah. I have long anticipated it. How happy I will be, and how great will be my joy if Allah accepts me as a martyr. By Allah, my heart is filled with many emotions, and I cannot control them... As if a beautiful dream were taking over my body, as if my heart were beating out the words, "Allah, accept me as a martyr." How I have yearned to turn my body into slivers that would tear the sons of Zion to pieces; and to knock with their skulls on the gates of Paradise. By Allah, even if you broke my bones and hacked me to pieces, you would not be able to destroy my faith or rip my banner. How I kept telling myself: The Jews are the enemies of Allah, so fill with hatred for them and turn your blood into a path on which you will walk to Paradise." [2]

"She Penetrated Deeper into the Crowd, Her Breath Coming in Spurts and the Spark of Death Shining in Her Eyes, and... Allah Akbar!... The Body-Parts of the Jews Scattered Everywhere, and the Black Blood Spilled on the Soil of the Prophets, While Her Pure Soul Ascended to Paradise"

In another posting, headed "Indeed, Men Do Not Have a Monopoly [on Martyrdom]," Umm Hamza Al-Shahid described the last moments of a woman suicide bomber: "She recited the morning prayer... and then sat invoking [the name of] Allah until dawn. In her mind she heard the words of a brother who had [chosen] the path [of martyrdom]: 'Even if I had died while praying, [3] I would have regretted having missed the opportunity to die as a martyr [in a war] for the sake of Allah.' She went out and walked silently... her [soul] filling with a deep and confident tranquility. She fingered the explosive belt hidden under her clothes to make sure that it was tightly fastened. She went on. Then a crowd of filthy Jews appeared in the distance and she hurried to meet them. She managed to slip into the crowd without anyone noticing her. Her heart palpitated, not out of fear of the despicable [Jews], but because her momentous meeting with Allah was drawing near. It seemed to her that the sky shone lighter and brighter than before. She penetrated deeper into the crowd, her breath coming in spurts and the spark of death shining in her eyes, and... Allah Akbar! The explosion rang out loud, violent, deafening and destructive. The body parts of the Jews scattered everywhere, and the black blood spilled on the soil of the Prophets, while her pure soul ascended to heaven, to the chandeliers [of Paradise, an abode of] light, peace and eternity." [4]

A subscriber calling himself Sayf Allah [Sword of Allah] posted a link to a video, accompanied by a message titled "To [Women] Who Seek Martyrdom": "To our sisters on this dear forum, and to all [sisters] everywhere who are devout in their faith, here is a simple video about several women who became martyrs and who, [their final testaments,] urged others to [wage] jihad." [5]

The women's forum on the Islamist website Al-Shumoukh featured an excerpt from a book titled Jihad and Combat in Shari'a[-Based] Policy (Al-Jihad Wal-Qital Fi Al-Siyassa Al-Shar'iyya), by Dr. Muhammad Khayr Haykal, which included the following: "Martyrdom for the sake of Allah is one of the values that Islam glorifies and which confers prestige on the one who implements it... Through [martyrdom], one receives eternal life and avoids death, which is the lot of everyone else. The gates of Paradise open [before the martyr], and the life in this world goes on while the martyrs [bask in] the pleasures of Paradise... After their souls leave their bodies, Allah builds them palaces." [6]

"A Woman... [Usually] Dreams of a Husband, a Large House, Children... But There Are Other Women... Jihad Fighters... Who [Sacrifice] Their Souls alongside the Men"; "She Donned a Shroud, Strapped on the Explosive Belt, and Left... That Was the Pivotal Moment in her [Decision] to Meet Allah as a Martyr"

A subscriber calling herself Rabab Khatem wrote under the heading "Women Jihad Fighters in Modern Times Will Go Down in History": "For a long time, I have been thinking about that woman who left everything, abandoned the sweet pleasures of this world... gave up her soul and her money in order to prove herself [equal] to men... [and to prove] that the religion of Allah is more important than her [own life]... I tried to find other women like her among my people, but found only flashy TV hosts, dancers, singers, etc., who present themselves as role models for mankind, and indeed serve as role models for those who wish to follow their [unworthy] example... I have been planning to write about her for a long time... I looked for the most beautiful words that have been said about her, and found many, but none as wonderful as the those written about her by the forum subscriber Louis 'Atiyyat Allah [under the heading] 'Lament for a Muslim Woman Knight':

"'...As I write these words, my sorrow that I am not among you sears my heart. I wish I could be among you, for that would have been an immense privilege. What value is there in a pleasant life that ends in the grave, without glory that will go down [in history, and without] having faithfully served Allah's religion... [The woman knight] said: Allah, accept my blood today and be pleased with it... A woman in this world [usually] dreams of a husband, a large house, children... However, there are other women - praise them - who have decided [to sacrifice] their souls alongside with men, and are undoubtedly jihad fighters...

"The women of the courageous Chechen people have sacrificed their children and their money... They joined the march of the martyrs; they refused to [accept] oppression, and as the enemy intensified its [cruel oppression], their steadfastness and [readiness for] self-sacrifice grew ever stronger... One woman was apprehended by the Russians, and a senior Russian officer violated her honor... She swore revenge... She started preparing, counting the days until she would sacrifice her most valued possession for the sake of religion and honor. She donned a shroud, strapped an explosive belt around her body and went to him; and when the moment came, she approached him, and it was then that she consummated [her resolve] to meet Allah as a martyr...

"This is a story of young women, in the spring of their youth, who entered a Russian theater disguised as newspaper reporters, committed to martyring themselves. One of them concealed [the surprise] that she had prepared for the Russians in her camera, while the other had it wrapped around her waist. As soon as the senior regional Russian officials gathered together at the premises, the doors were locked, so that they could savor [in full] what had been prepared for them, and the end came before [the event could even] begin... Praised be their deeds, which will go down in history." [7]

"One's Heart Rejoices [at the Sight of] a Woman Whose Soul Yearns for Jihad for the Sake of Allah"

The Al-Hesbah website posted an item written by Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sahim praising women who join jihad. Following are excerpts:

"By Allah, one's chest expands at the sight of processions of [martyrs] returning to Allah... One's heart beats faster at hearing about a young woman... who rises above the world of fashion and relinquishes the material world. One's soul rejoices [at the sight of] a woman with great aspirations whose soul yearns for jihad for the sake of Allah. [At the sight of such things,] I say: The nation is still sound. It is unfortunate for its enemies that they are fighting a nation which has women of such [character]... A nation that gives rise to [women] of this kind is a nation that will never die... By Allah, my heart is ready to leap out of my breast as I read the inquiry by a young woman not yet 20 years old regarding the war against the enemies and regarding taking part in jihad through martyrdom... Today my nation needs women who bear the burden, rather than ones who are themselves a burden on the da'wa and the preachers. Therefore [I say to the women:] Be the one who bears the burden of da'wa and the banner of victory and glory." [8]

"If You Can Sacrifice Your Soul - What a Great Sacrifice That Will Be!"

The Al-Shumoukh website posted an item titled "An Appeal from the Mother of Martyrs to Her Sisters in the Forums," dated October 1, 2007, in which the anonymous author states: "My sister, you are an inseparable part of this glorious jihad, and without you no armies would advance and no banners [would be] raised. Therefore, do not underestimate the value of your effort, for it has a significant impact... If you have a friend or a relative whom you trust, try to direct them onto the path [of jihad] - and great will be your reward! Do not reveal your intentions to anyone - even to the one closest to you, since secrecy is the key to success... If you can sacrifice your soul, what a great sacrifice that will be!... Know, my dear, that the more you sacrifice, the greater your reward in this world, and also in the world to come." [9]

"Why Shouldn't Contemporary Women Jihad Fighters... Sacrifice What Is Most Precious To Them, and [Give] Their Soul for the Sake of Religion?"

Another posting on Al-Hesbah, titled "The Islamic Woman Knight" by a participant who signed himself "[Admirer] of Sheikh Abu Mousab [Al-Zarqawi]," called on Muslim women to follow the example of the women of early Islam and sacrifice their souls for the sake of religion. Following are excerpts:

"My sisters, the Muslim jihad fighters... We want to follow the path of grace and jihad taken by our mothers and sisters of the early Islam. Unfortunately, [however,] the weakness of our times, which is currently besetting the Muslims, has cast a shadow on their lives, creating distortions that Islam repudiates... Why shouldn't contemporary women jihad fighters... sacrifice what is most precious to them, and [give] their souls for the sake of religion[?]... Didn't Muslim women in the days of the Prophet and the Righteous Caliphs [10] join the army and set out on jihad?... Women continued to take part in [wars waged by] Muslim armies, [helping to get] supplies, providing medical aid, and [taking part in actual] fighting - until the Muslims gradually estranged themselves from Islam, abolishing many Islamic traditions - among them those that granted women legitimacy to wage jihad." [11]

My Muslim Sister, You Bear Much of the Responsibility for the Present Defeat of Islam - Had You Fulfilled Your Mission, This Humiliation Would Not Be Plaguing the Nation

A subscriber calling herself "Martyr's Sister" urges women to fulfill their crucial mission in jihad, or at least not to obstruct a man's way to jihad. Following are excerpts:

"The woman can be a force that either impedes or spurs jihad... Our deeds must guarantee that we place the love of Allah and His Messenger, as well as the love of jihad for the sake of Allah, over and above the love of transient [things]. This is what will cause the sons of the nation to sacrifice their souls for the sake of Islam and the Muslims, and [free] us of our apathy, so that the infidel nations will never rule over our nation - for they will see that we have men who love death as much as [the infidels] love life; that we have merchants who are ready to sacrifice all their capital for the sake of the victory of our faith... and that we have mothers who cannot find peace because their fathers were not part of jihad. Given all this, it is clear that Allah's enemies will think a thousand times before [attempting to] harm [the Muslim] nation and to attack it...

"While the woman can be one of the greatest obstacles to Muslim victory, she can also be one of its crucial motivating forces, provided she fulfills her mission with utmost courage and selflessness... Moreover, Islam, in its times of prosperity, could never have achieved victory over the infidels, which surpassed it in numbers, equipment, and capital, had it not been for the woman, [who fulfilled her role] responsibly and appropriately. She is the one who raises her children to jihad and watches over the man's honor and property when he sets out to wage jihad; she is the one who bears up in the face of hardship, encouraging her children and everyone else under her guardianship to endure and follow this path - indeed, 'behind every glorious jihad fighter there is a woman.'

"The enemies of the [Islamic] nation only endeavored to liberate the woman once they realized that the [Muslim] woman is the foundation of the nation, and that if she is corrupted, everything she brings forth, and everyone around her, will be corrupted as well. They made the worst [possible] use of her, and she internalized the illusions and believed the [false] claims [regarding emancipation]... However, if today you, [the Muslim woman,] refrain from participating in the struggle and preparing for it, the nation will also refrain [from the struggle] - for then who will educate the children for this struggle, who will stand behind the men urging them to take part in this war, [and] who will raise the mothers of the next generation to complete the task you began?...

"The woman is an important element in today's struggle, and she must take part [in it], supporting it in every way and [contributing] all the resources she can muster. Her role in this struggle is by no means secondary [to the man's]; on the contrary, her participation is considered one of the foundations of victory and continuity. Therefore, my Muslim sister, it is imperative that you understand that your role is even greater than you might imagine, and that you bear much [of the responsibility] for the present defeat of Islam - for had you fulfilled your mission, this humiliation would not be plaguing the nation...

"I am warning you of Allah's wrath... Do not stand as an obstacle on the men's path to jihad. The minimum that is required of you when the men set out on jihad is to keep quiet and be content with what Allah has commanded. You must know that when you keep the men from waging jihad, it is as if you are turning your back on Allah's ways... You are forbidden to prevent the men from embarking on jihad, unless their action would bring about perdition for you and for your children... Do not serve as a tool to be wielded by Allah's enemies to destroy the values of the nation." [12]

Mother Who Lost Four Sons: "Allah Be Praised for Honoring Me with Their Martyrdom"

The Al-Faloja website posted a story describing the reaction of a mother upon being informed that her four sons had become martyrs: "The announcement did not perturb her, nor did her facial expression change; she asked the man [who had delivered the news]: Did they all die? The man said: They were [a unit] that destroyed the enemy one by one. They set up a rendezvous with martyrdom, and whenever one wavered, the other encouraged him, strengthening his resolve and motivation. The [mother] was happy... and said: Praised be Allah for honoring me with their martyrdom. I pray for Allah to let me join them in His abode. Tell me now, what fate did Allah grant you, [the jihad fighters]? He replied: We attained a decisive victory. She raised her hands to heaven and said: Praise Allah, praise Allah! Then she went off in the direction of her tent, praising Allah over and over" [13]

In another document, the Al-Hesbah website appeals to mothers of jihad fighters, expounding the importance of their sons' role as defenders of the faith and detailing the advantages of martyrdom: "To every mother of a jihad fighter combating Allah's enemies... You have borne us a hero - one of the Islamic heroes of which the nation is proud and who are [fighting on the various jihad] fronts... Were it not for Allah, and for [your son] and his brothers, Muslim lands would have become forfeit, and religious commandments would have been annulled; however, owing to his ideals, [your son] stands like a bastion against the enemies of religion. Hence, [as] his mother, you are blessed... Wouldn't you like your son to attest to your righteousness on Judgment Day? Wouldn't you like his death to be easy?... Wouldn't you like your son to be among the best of the martyrs of Allah's Messenger?... Wouldn't you like Allah to extol your son before His angels?" [14]

"The Prophet Said: 'Ye Women, Give Charity, for I Have Seen That You Are the Majority in Hell...'"

Al-Hesbah posted an article from the magazine Sada Al-Jihad titled "Why Not Wage Jihad Out of Your Own Home?" and calling on women to fulfill their obligation with respect to jihad by extending financial help to jihad fighters:

"My Muslim sister! I do not believe that you have any doubts as to the importance of money for the victory of Allah's faith or regarding its role in supporting jihad... You are aware that this important aspect of jihad for the sake of Allah is mentioned in the Koran - for money is the [vital] artery of jihad... In many [Koranic] verses, Allah gives priority to jihad by means of financial [contribution], preferring it to jihad by means of martyrdom... This is [because] the latter kind of jihad is impossible without money, while it is possible for a Muslim to wage jihad by means of his money without sacrificing his life... Furthermore, in this respect, the Islamic faith appeals specifically to women, highlighting the issue for her; thus, the Prophet said: 'Ye women, give charity, for I have seen that you are the majority in hell...' Therefore, let us be open-handed for the sake of Islam's victory and contribute our money to jihad fighters... My sister, don't you see that jihad fighters are today in urgent need of funds, since they are being subjected to ever-growing pressure?... In the history of Islam, there are exemplary cases of faithful women who contributed [everything] they had [to bring about] the victory of Allah and His Messenger, and to defend religion. Shall we not emulate them by assisting and supporting our brothers? My sister, do not forget that aiding jihad is [in itself a form of] jihad." [15]

Our Basic Mission Is to Send the Lions Forth to Battle; They Will Vouch For Us on the Day of Judgment

Another article from the magazine Sada Al-Jihad posted on Al-Hesbah, titled "Raising Children to Jihad," said: "Children's education starts while they are still in their mother's womb. An infant feels the love of Islam while still in its mother's womb - through [her] love and devotion to her faith... And when she listens to the Koran on a regular basis... her feelings are passed on to [the fetus]... This has been proven by modern research... At least during its first years, the baby needs its mother's full attention - hence, she is preoccupied only with raising the child preacher, [and] jihad fighter - to lay down the stages we shall follow together. Let us press our children to our hearts and hoist our weapons onto our backs in preparation for the ultimate [stage]. We strive to fulfill our basic mission of sending the lions forth to the battlefields, like Al-Khansaa, [16] and they will vouch for us on the Day [of Judgment]." [17]

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

Abuse of U.S. Muslim Women Is Greater Than Reported, Advocacy Groups Say

Abuse of U.S. Muslim Women Is Greater Than Reported, Advocacy Groups Say

Jan. 31: Fozia Sadiq, a Pakistani immigrant in Northern Virginia, hides her identity. She alleges her husband physically abused her for not cleaning.

WASHINGTON — Two months into an arranged marriage, Fozia Sadiq, a young Pakistani immigrant, found herself trapped in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, with a violent husband.

She says he routinely beat her and intimidated her into never going anywhere in public without him.

"My neck had so many bruises, and I had scratches all over my arms," Sadiq told FOXNews.com through an interpreter.

A practicing Muslim, Sadiq finally escaped in 2006, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

She says she stayed up all night reading the Koran and was physically abused by her husband for not cleaning up the kitchen the next morning."He yelled at her, kicked her and punished her," says Mazna Hussain, an attorney who is helping Sadiq remain in the United States.

"And when she was on the ground [during the beating], at that point she finally decided to leave before he killed her."

There are no solid statistics on the rate of domestic violence within the Muslim-American community, and it is difficult to determine whether Muslim women are victimized more than women in the general population.

But advocacy groups say Sadiq's story is not an isolated case.

On New Year's Day, two teenage Egyptian-American sisters, Amina and Sarah Said, were shot dead in Irving, Texas. Police are searching for their father, Yaser Abdel Said, who reportedly was angry with their American-like behavior, which included dating.

According to the girls' great-aunt, their father had been abusing them for years. She says they, along with their mother, fled after he threatened to kill the girls.

The great-aunt called the murders "honor killings" for bringing shame to the family, a charge Islam Said, the girls' brother, denies. Police say they are looking into motives.

Allegations that the girls were killed for dishonoring the family's name has brought greater focus on all forms of abuse in the Muslim-American community in what some say is a bigger problem than is reported because, they say, it is veiled in secrecy.

"I suspect it's happening a lot more than we think," says Hussain, who works with battered Muslim women at the Tahirih Justice Center in Northern Virginia.

"We hear again and again from [abused] women who say, 'I can't tell my parents back home because if they find out, my younger sister can't get married,'" says Meghna Gozwami, client services coordinator for DAYA, a South-Asian immigrant group that provides legal and financial assistance for abused families. The name "DAYA" means "compassion" in Sanskrit.DAYA, which runs a domestic violence hotline, has seen a dramatic increase in distress calls --almost 20 times more -- in the last five years (from 189 calls in 2003 to 3,308 last year).

It isn't clear if the increase in calls is due to more abuse or whether more immigrant women, exposed to America's open culture, have felt the freedom to seek help.

But Gozwami says she is sure that the women who call the hotline are afraid not only for their own safety but for fear that reporting the abuse will shame their families.

Those working to stop the violence say part of the problem is that women, often recent immigrants, face intense family and religious pressure to keep quiet.

Many Muslim immigrant women do not even know that they are victims of a crime. That's because in their home country it may be legal or acceptable for men to physically punish or even kill their wives and daughters for dishonoring the family.

And when an immigrant woman tries to get help, advocates say, an abusive husband often will threaten to have her deported."Within our community we are still struggling with the issue of domestic abuse," says Hadayai Majeed, who runs the Baitul Salaam shelter in Atlanta, which caters to Muslim women.

She says women and girls who come to the shelter sometimes have been physically punished for what their fathers, husbands and brothers believe is behavior that dishonors the family.

Dating a non-Muslim or not wearing a traditional head scarf can trigger a beating.

"This can be interpreted as being extremely rebellious or be an excuse for abuse," Majeed says.

Not only is this behavior culturally accepted in many Islamic countries, but it is encouraged. Last year a prominent Saudi cleric went on television to tell Muslim men how to properly beat their wives.

In the video he instructs viewers: "Beating in the face is forbidden ... even if you want your camel or donkey to start walking, you are not allowed to beat it in the face. If this is true for animals, it is all the more true when it comes to humans"

Here in America, advocacy groups say those who turn to their community for help do not always find it, in particular from some religious leaders who, although they are in the United States, still hold to cultural traditions of their homeland and do not clearly reject violence against women."I had another client facing severe domestic violence from her husband, and her Imam kept going to the woman and persuading her to go back" to her abuser, Hussain says.

Author Phyllis Chesler, who writes about Islamic gender issues in the United States, believes domestic violence against Muslim-American women, not just immigrants, is covered up by an Islamic culture that treats women as second-class citizens.

"I'm not saying every Muslim family does it or that every Imam encourages it or that only Muslim men beat their wives, but Muslim men have control over their wives," she says.

"And monitoring the chastity of their women is an obsession, because if she loses it, or has a boyfriend or wants to marry who she wants to marry, this could be a death sentence."

The practice of murdering a woman or girl who is believed to have damaged the family honor is culturally accepted in countries including Jordan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.

According to a 2000 report by the United Nations Population Fund, as many as 5,000 women worldwide are murdered each year in so-called honor killings. But reported killings in Europe and North America have raised concerns that Muslim women in the West are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

The most recent case came in December when a Canadian teenager died after an alleged attack by her father over a dispute about whether she should wear a traditional Muslim head scarf.

To date, there officially are no documented cases of honor killings in the United States. The recent slayings of Amina and Sarah Said, however, have triggered a debate over whether this is the first, and if the deadly ritual has been exported to America and more killings are on the way.Members of groups such as the Tahirih Justice Center say they are watching the case closely.

"There is a very conservative, twisted view out there about Islam," Hussain says.

Shariq Siddiqui, the executive director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, says some Muslims manipulate their faith and culture to justify abuse.

"I hate to use him as an example, but Usama bin Laden is doing this at a macro level, and Muslim-American men who abuse women are doing it at a micro level," says Siddiqui, who works with Muslim domestic violence victims through the Julian Center, a non-profit agency in Indianapolis.But many are reluctant to quantify to what degree Muslim faith perpetuates the problem.

Practicing Muslims, even battered women, do not want to portray Islam as an abusive religion or demonize all Muslim men.

"There's domestic abuse in every community," says Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana University scholar and writer who is working to educate Muslims about spousal abuse.

"Like American women, Muslim women who are abused face psychological pressure from their abusers, and they're afraid to speak out."

Muslim-Americans just recently have started to confront the problem. Some domestic violence shelters have opened for Muslim women, mostly in big cities. And activists are beginning to reach out to sympathetic Imams who will teach Muslims in the United States that domestic violence is unacceptable.

Zakaria has launched a legal defense fund to support Muslim victims of abuse.

Feminists, Pacifists,Liberals and terrorists are all birds of the same feather, therefore they all flock together.

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

I didnt mean all feminists, but from the vid Paparock put doesnt look like the main feminists groups (in the US anyway) care much about the plight of muslim women at the hands of muslim men.

I would like to add to my above posts that Capitalists and Commies are both losers also.They both make peoples lives miserable. Just a thought

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

Two women who reportedly had Down’s syndrome may have been unwilling suicide bombers in twin blasts that killed up to 73 people at pet markets in Baghdad today.

A female bomber killed 45 people at a packed pet market in Baghdad this, police said, in the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in six months.

A separate bombing shortly after killed 20 people and wounded scores at a bird market in southern Baghdad, police said. The death toll from the two bombings increased throughout the day to at least 73.

The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brigadier General Qassim al-Moussawi, claimed the female bombers apparently had Down’s syndrome and the explosives were detonated by remote control, indicating the women may not have been willing attackers, according to his office.

Another case of brave Islamic jihad warriors killing in the name of Allah other Muslims!

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Its very sad to see that terrorists have gone that low and that evil to this kind of thing!

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

He is asking for your hand in marriage, and you have fallen in love with his bronze Middle Eastern complexion. He is intelligent, rich, well-educated and well-mannered. So, what more can a woman ask for?...THIS MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR IS ALSO A MUSLIM!

"There will be no problems" he will say, "you can keep your religion, I will keep mine". And while it is true that Islam allows a Muslim man to marry a
Christian woman, is it true that there will be no problems in such a marriage?To answer this question, a woman has to examine what it is like to be a Muslim's wife.

Your Status

Islam teaches that men are superior to women." Surah 2:228

Islam teaches that women have half the rights of men:

In court witness Surah 2:282

In inheritance Surah 4:11

Islam considers the wife a possession. "Fair in the eyes of men is the love

of things they covet: women and sons, heaped-up hoards of gold and silver;horses..." Surah 3:14

Islam instructs women to veil themselves always when they are outside their homes" and say to the believing women...that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty"Surah 24:31

Mohammed teaches that women are lacking in mind and religion "I have not seen any one more deficient in intelligence and religion than women" Al Bukhary vol. 2:541

Muhammed teaches that women are a bad omen. "Bad omen is in the women, the house and the horse" Al Bukhary vol. 7:30

Mohammed teaches that women are harmful to men "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women" Al Bukhary vol.7:33

Your Marriage

Islam allows polygamy: A man may marry up to four wives at one time. "Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four... " Surah 4:3

A man can divorce his wife by oral announcement, the wife has no such right.

"Divorce is permissible twice" Surah 2:229

When a husband has pronounced divorce three times on his wife, she then may not lawfully remarry her husband until she has married and been divorced by another man (including having sexual intercourse with him). "...So if a husband divorces his wife he cannot after that, remarry her until after she has married another husband, and he has divorced her" Surah 2:230

Islam teaches that a wife is subject to punishment by her husband, beating a wife or abstaining from sexual relations with her is allowed. "As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse to share their beds, beat them... " Surah 4:34

Your Sex Life

Islam considers the wife a sex object. "your wives are as a tilth (a field to be ploughed) unto you, so approach your tilth when or how ye will " Surah 2:223

Your Children

Your children have to be raised according to their Muslim father's religion:

Islam. If he divorces you, he gets custody of the children, and you wouldn't be able to see your children again.

The Sharia (Islamic Law) states that in mixed marriages "the children will follow the better of the two religions of their parents", which in your case is considered Islam. The Quran states that Islam is the only true religion, "The religion before Allah is Islam" Surah 3:19.

Non Muslims can not act as protectors to Muslims, "O ye who believe; take not for friends (protectors) unbelievers rather than believers" Surah 4:144

Your Future

Should you survive your Muslim husband, and his wealth is in an Islamic country, the Islamic law will apply. The wife who has not converted to Islam gets nothing, the wife who has converted to Islam gets very little.

According to the Quran a Muslim wife does not inherit all her husband's wealth. If the husband dies and he leaves no children, she gets a fourth of his wealth, his parents, brothers, uncles...etc will get the rest. If the deceased husband leaves children, then the wife gets an eighth, the children get the rest; the male child gets double the portion of the female.

"In what ye leave, their (wives) share is a fourth if you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they (wives) get an eighth ; after payment of legacies and debts." Surah 4:12

Before You Say "I DO"

Before you commit yourself to marry a Muslim, it is a good idea to examine the motives behind it. While your motive may be love, his motive could be just to obtain a "Green Card".

I know, they say "love is blind", I hope however that this message will serve as an eye- opener for you.

You may say that your husband-to-be is a non-practicing Muslim. But let's not forget that Islam is more than a religion; it includes a complete legal code for Muslims and non- Muslims to follow in an Islamic State. In case of a dispute between you and him, all he needs to do to get the upper hand over you is to travel to an Islamic country.

If you are still in doubt about this, may I suggest that you see the movie "Not without my daughter" which is based on a true life story of an American woman who married a Muslim man. Other similar movies are: "Princess, Dreams of Trespass, and The Stoning of Soraya M?"

This may be a life-saving experience. The lives you will save are your own, and those of your future children.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Can a muslim woman marry a Christian or Jewish man? NO only a muslim man can marry a non muslim, a muslim woman may only marry a muslim man. The law of Allah says so.

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

A 15-year-old girl from Pakistan was forced into prostitution in the U.K. by her mother-in-law, The Sunday Times of London reported.

The teen, whose name was not disclosed, arrived in the U.K. expecting to be married to a handsome and successful older man, the paper reported. Instead, she was married to a 40-year-old, unemployed, disabled man with the mental age of a 5-year-old.

The marriage was reportedly not recognized by the British Home Office,but was considered valid under sharia — or Islamic — law.

As if that weren't bad enough, the girl's mother-in-law then decided to take advantage of the teen's youth and good looks by offered her to men looking for sex, The Sunday Times reported.

According to the paper, the family "invited" men to rape her.
The girl eventually escaped her husband's family's home and is now living in a shelter.

Her story is just one of hundreds of cases of abuse highlighted in a recent government report by the U.K.'s Center for Social Cohesion which looks at the growing trend within the Islamic and Asian communities in the U.K.

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

The human right of muslim woman is to kill "zionists" or "crusaders" or anybody else who don't profess the same kind of islam or is "hipocrite", which means almost anybody on this planet, I'm waiting for Hilary Clinton as feminists and Barak Husein Obama as (ex) moslime to adress this issue in presidential campaign.

__________________
Hadith Sahih Muslim (41:6985) Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying:
The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.http://israelmilitary.net/showthread.php?t=2617http://israelmilitary.net/showthread.php?t=3410

Forcing their women into prostitution, how low can they go.
However this kind of thing has been going on in all cultures until now. Women are still not respected either by so called Emancipated societies or primitive countries.

Thousands of these stories of forced prostitution in Europe East and West. Israel,Asia,africa etc etc.

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

in the Sydney Morning Herald, James Button provides a generally good overview of the phenomenon of honor killings, although he adds generous coats of PC whitewash:

[...] The issue is acutely sensitive among British Muslims, already feeling embattled since the September 11, 2001, and July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks. Reported levels of domestic violence in British Asian communities are lower than the national average, according to The Guardian. But for a small minority of families, the British judge Marilyn Mornington has said: "Honour rests with the chastity and obedience of women in the community. If that is transgressed then the woman must be punished, ultimately unto death."

Britain is not alone: 47 Muslim women were killed in Germany between 2000 and 2006. The UN estimates that 5000 women and girls are victims of honour killings each year. But the British example illustrates how a culturally relativist form of multiculturalism can clash with women's rights and how honour crimes, far from disappearing as migrants settle over generations into new countries, may even be on the rise.

In 2006 one in 10 of 500 young British Asians told the BBC that honour killings could be justified. Nazir Afzal of the Crown Prosecution Service and a leading prosecutor of honour crimes says that when he began work on such cases, "I thought it was an imported practice that would die out when the elder generation [of a migrant community] died. But many of the young people tell me shocking things."

For example, a young Sikh man told Afzal: "A man is a piece of gold and a woman is a piece of silk. If you drop a piece of gold into the mud you can polish it clean. If you drop a piece of silk into mud it is stained forever." [...]

A Kurdish asylum seeker from north-west Iran, Nammi came to Britain 10 years ago. At a school for her young daughter in north London, she met Sobhia Nader, a Kurdish interpreter who Nammi remembers as bright and kind and eager to help. But Nader failed to turn up for their third appointment. Nammi heard she had gone back to her home in Iraq.

What Nammi found later, she says, was that Nader's husband had taken her back to Iraq because he suspected his wife of flirting at work. In Kurdistan Nader was shot on two separate occasions, the second time fatally. The two men who stopped her car before killing her did not harm her husband, and Nammi believes they were his relatives. No one has been prosecuted in Britain or Iraq.

At that time attitudes to forced marriages and honour killings were more negligent than they are today. Only one in five homicide cases led to a conviction for murder; the rest for manslaughter. But in 2000, a spate of high-profile forced marriage cases led the Blair government minister Mike O'Brien to say "multicultural sensitivity is no excuse for moral blindness". Then came the murder of Heshu Yones.

She was a 16-year old Kurdish girl in London, whose father hated her Western dress and Lebanese Christian boyfriend. For 15 minutes, Abdullah Yones chased his daughter from room to room with a kitchen knife, stabbing her repeatedly and finally slitting her throat over the bath.

But a dhimmi judge chose multiculturalism:

The judge sentenced Yones to a minimum 14 years but appeared to mitigate the crime's savagery by calling it "a tragic story arising out of irreconcilable cultural differences between traditional Kurdish values and the values of Western society". It was arguable, he added, that "Heshu's conduct provoked her father".

Sitting in court, Nammi felt angry. "So-called cultural sensitivity is a way of letting women down," she says. "Why should any woman not have the same rights as a British woman? Murder is murder."

Yep. One would think everyone knew that. Apparently, not any more.

Afzal also cites the judge's comments and the fact that Yones was jailed for only 14 years, as evidence that reforms were needed. Now, judges are imposing terms of 25 to 27 years, he says. "In the past six years there has been a sea change in the way all of us - judges, prosecutors and investigators - approach the crime."

Nammi agrees the law has improved, but says police must change more. Banaz Mahmoud approached them several times and even provided an accurate list of who would murder her. Police offered her access to a refuge but made the mistake, Nammi says, of visiting her in her home, where she could not speak.

Nammi says the women she represents "are very brave. They make a huge decision to stand against their community. They know they have brought shame on their family, but they still stand up for their rights. They have fallen in love".

A Muslim by birth but an atheist since she was young, Nammi says the rise of extremist and fundamentalist Islam has been dire for women. She points to the revival of stoning of alleged female adulterers in Iran. Another malign effect of the Iraq war, she says, is that violence against women has increased there.

Both in Muslim countries and diasporas, as communities feel under pressure and want to protect their identities in the face of modernisation, traditional views of women are revived.

But Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, of the Muslim Parliament of Britain, says the issue is "not about Islam but about a tribal, rural mindset that says women belong to men and men must at all costs be obeyed".

Yes, that has nothing to do with Islam. Everyone knows that. What's that? "Good women are obedient" and those that aren't should be beaten, according to Qur'an 4:34? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?

Afzal, a practising Muslim from a Pakistani family, agrees, saying nothing in the Koran supports honour crimes: "It's the exact opposite". But he says some families will use Islam to justify their authority, telling a daughter that having a boyfriend is un-Islamic.

Well, if he is a non-Muslim, then it is certainly un-Islamic, according to all traditional Islamic jurisprudence. And while nothing in the Qur'an supports honor crimes, Jordan's Parliament a few years ago rejected an attempt to stiffen penalties for honor murders -- on Islamic grounds. So evidently there are quite a few Muslims who believe the practice is thoroughly Islamic.

Britain's response to honour crimes may be evidence of a maturing multiculturalism, in which no cultural practice is tolerated or swept aside simply because it comes from a disadvantaged ethnic group. Afzal says more people are reporting crimes, extraditions of suspected perpetrators who flee the country are being pursued, some community leaders have become "champions" of change.

Yet the killings go on. Just last month a coroner ruled that 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed of Cheshire had been murdered after she had defied her parents. They wanted her to marry a man in Pakistan; she wanted to study law. Just three days ago, Nammi received a text message that said: "I am an Iranian woman who needs confidential information. Please help me."

Afzal says communities must respond to such calls. "I have heard people say to me, 'Don't talk about this stuff because we are under attack. Don't wash our dirty linen in public.' But I have talked to loads of Muslim women and I can tell you that the greatest fear they have is not Islamophobia or being attacked by racists or being arrested on suspicion of terrorism. It is from within their own family."

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Yes the west defends Freedom, but we should not protect (in the name of so called freedom) stupid customs or religious beliefs that kill or mutilate women.

__________________Shalom to everyone! No extremeis good. Neitherin religion, nor in science.
"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel."
~ Golda Meir~

A 37-year-old American businesswoman and married mother of threeis seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh.

Yara, who does not want her last name published for fear of retribution, was bruised and crying when she was freed from a day in prison after she was strip-searched, threatened and forced to sign false confessions by the Kingdom's “Mutaween” police.

Her story offers a rare first-hand glimpseof the discrimination faced by women living in Saudi Arabia. In her first interview with the foreign press, Yara told The Times that she would remain in Saudi Arabia to challenge its harsh enforcement of conservative Islam rather than return to America.

“If I want to make a difference I have to stick around. If I leave they win. I can't just surrender to the terrorist acts of these people,” said Yara, who moved to Jeddah eight years ago with her husband, a prominent businessman.

Her ordeal began with a routine visit to the new Riyadh offices ofher finance company, where she is a managing partner.

The electricity temporarily cut out, so Yara and her colleagues — who are all men — went to a nearby Starbucks to use its wireless internet.
She sat in a curtained booth with her business partner in the café's “family” area, the only seats where men and women are allowed to mix.
For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

“Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked ‘Why are you here together?'. I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,” recalled Yara, who wears an abaya and headscarf, like most Saudi women.

The men were from Saudi Arabia's Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a police force of several thousand men charged with enforcing dress codes, sex segregation and the observance of prayers.
Yara, whose parents are Jordanian and grew up in Salt Lake City, once believed that life in Saudi Arabia was becoming more liberal. But on Monday the religious police took her mobile phone, pushed her into a cab and drove her to Malaz prison in Riyadh. She was interrogated, strip-searched and forced to sign and fingerprint a series of confessions pleading guilty to her “crime”.

“They took me into a filthy bathroom, full of water and dirt. They made me take off my clothes and squat and they threw my clothes in this slush and made me put them back on,” she said. Eventually she was taken before a judge.

“He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell'. I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,” she said. Yara's husband, Hatim, used his political contacts in Jeddah to track her whereabouts. He was able to secure her release.

“I was lucky. I met other women in that prison who don't have the connections I did,” she said. Her story has received rare coverage in Saudi Arabia, where the press has been sharply critical of the police. Yara was visited yesterday by officials from the American Embassy, who promised they would file a report.

An embassy official told The Times that it was being treated as“an internal Saudi matter” and refused to comment on her case.

Tough justice
— Saudi Arabia’s Mutaween has 10,000 members in almost 500 offices
— Ahmad al-Bluwi, 50, died in custody in 2007 in the city of Tabuk after he invited a woman outside his immediate family into his car
— In 2007 the victim of a gang rape was sentenced to 200 lashes and six years in jail for having been in an unrelated man’s car at the time. She was pardoned by King Abdullah, although he maintained the sentence had been fair

__________________O IsraelThe LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.